Everett Winsled 

Body horror, animal death, pregnancy/childbirth

In a certain office in Megacity Libra, a number of men and women were gathered. They sat in chairs around a rectangular table at the center of the room. They wore stiff expressions, some of boredom, some smiling as if they might burst into scornful laughter at any moment, all intently watching the lanky man at the back of the room. His name was Everett Winsled. He was a physicist leading the Everett Multiverse Institute who claimed to have been the first to observe a parallel world.

"And that is a summary of the multiverse observation device I would like to propose."

"...May I have a word?"

"Yes, go ahead."

A man who had been listening to Everett with his chin in his hands glanced at the document in front of him and said, "This multiverse observation device you speak of... What exactly can that little toaster-looking box even do?"

"Using the projection device in this box—I call it a 'window'—we can peek into a great variety of worlds different from our own."

"Does it do anything else?"

"No, not at present."

"...And you're asking us to invest billions into your little surprise box?"

"The jack-in-the-box I gifted to my kids would be more exciting than showing them this. At least that one makes a sound."

There were snickers and sneers all around. Everett muttered, "you're just joking," as he smiled back, eventually returning to his serious expression.

"Speaking honestly, all it can do right now is look at the other side. However, there are plenty of benefits from the places we observe."

"Such as?"

"I'd like you to take a look."

Something appeared on the projector behind him: an image of a parallel world captured by the observation device. Perhaps because of the small box, the quality of the enlarged image was poor. The only thing just barely recognizable was that someone was standing there. From the figure, they appeared to be a woman. She held a large black object in her hand.

"Is that...a gun?"

"How is this beneficial?"

"You're about to see."

Suddenly, the woman turned the gun forward, toward an apparent target. The next moment, the gun gave off a dazzling flash, and the target was erased without a trace.

"What on Earth...?"

"Somehow, she seems to be firing a laser that is unaffected by the environment. Lasers begin to diffuse in the environment the moment they are emitted, and lose power by the time they strike a target. However, this gun is different."

Everett slowly looked around at everyone's faces. "When I say benefits, I mean that we can observe, analyze, and reproduce technologies we have not yet developed. I would like to build a larger device to increase the accuracy...in other words, I need a lot of funding. There is no one but you who can lead this research to success!"

As Everett shouted, he gloated inwardly. It was perfect, if he could say so. By advancing his multiverse research, he could dispel all of his regrets about Bridget—but the results weren't what he expected.

"Your proposal is wonderfully inventive. But how can you prove this multiverse you speak of?"

"Wha...! I just showed you, didn't I?"

"All I saw was footage from a cheap movie. Any amateur can make something like this nowadays."

Everyone voiced their doubts all at once. They were representatives of Megacity Libra's businesses, staff from major banks, and famous private investigators. They hadn't come to see Everett's presentation, of course. They had come to see whether his multiverse theory and the device to observe it were worth investing in.

"The idea of borrowing technology from other worlds is quite appealing in itself. But I fail to see how the cost of a single observation is worth the potential benefits of this unknown technology."

"You haven't written any concrete numbers in your documents. It would be rather reckless to finance this."

"I will need to explore more efficient methods to reduce expenses. As you say, the cost doesn't seem appropriate at first. However, I promise you will eventually be rewarded far beyond your initial investment!"

"Anyone can make an empty promise. And perhaps this reward will take a hundred years."

"Ugh..."

That hit a nerve. Everett held his tongue. The investors' reactions were cold. Still, he kept struggling to convince them.

"If we improve the observation device's performance, we can not only interfere with other worlds but cross over as well. Traveling wouldn't just be a dream. Instead of worrying about other countries' rights, we could even obtain an endless supply of resources. The economic impact would be five quadrillion—no, even greater than that!"

Thwap!

Someone threw a document at Everett.

"I sincerely hope your dream will come true," an investor said. She left the room with a curt smile on her face. On her cue, the others began to stand from their seats one after another.

"We are not your coin purse. What's next, adamantine? Why don't you show us metals that only exist in video games?"

"That's not fair! My research will change the state of the world! That first step—"

"Wait, no, please, wait! I'm not finished!"

Slam.

Only Everett was left in the room.

He let out a long sigh. Then, he put his fingers to his necktie in frustration and tore it off, threw it down, and disheveled his neatly gelled hair.

"Dahhh! Every last one of them is such a realist! Don't just look under your feet, look further!"

Venting his anger didn't make him feel any better.

"And this suit was expensive!"

After an absurd outburst of anger toward the suit he had taken out a loan to buy to show off today, he turned toward the refrigerator in the corner of the room. He shoved the door open and carelessly grabbed a bottle from inside. There was a satisfying pshh, and Everett downed it in one go, paying no mind to the dark liquid spilling out from his mouth.

"Haaaaaah, that's the stuff...!"

Whenever things didn't go well, he had a routine of downing his favorite soda like this, forcing his thoughts to reset.

"I gotta think about financing..."

He would search for other people who might invest. Just when he was about to gather all his documents and throw them in the trash—

"—Oh, is the presentation already over?"

A low, dignified voice came from somewhere. Without turning around, Everett waved his hand to tell them to go away.

"Yeah, it's over. I'm just about to start the afterparty."

"I see. I had come to see if you were something worth investing in...but it seems I've wasted my time."

Everett's face snapped upright to see a woman standing with her back to the doorway. She looked about a dozen years older than him, but her style didn't reflect her age. Dressed in a stylish deep blue suit, she had a mysterious air about her, as if she had descended from the moon. Seeing her outfit, Everett finally realized who she was. He stopped her, not even noticing when he dropped his empty bottle on the floor.

"W-Wait a moment!"

"Is there something else?"

Everett hastily fixed his hair and stood up straight.

"You must hear me out! This could be a fantastic boon to you and your company, Ms. Evis Harbinger, CEO of Libra Dynamics!"

Hearing him panic and act over-polite, the woman called Evis told him to stop. "I came here because I'd like to have an in-depth conversation with you. There's no need to be so stiff now."

"B-But..."

"Oh, I know. If it's all right, would you share a bottle of that soda with me?"

"Huh?"

To his surprise, deep creases appeared at the corners of her eyes. Her expression was charming, like that of a mischievous young girl. "Isn't this the afterparty now?"

Evis listened to all of Everett's fantastical speech without interrupting once, then applauded and gave her honest opinion.

"So, observing parallel worlds... If you can make it a reality, it could change the world in a major way."

"It would undoubtedly be revolutionary. We're still just observing for now, but if we improve the device's functionality, we'll eventually be able to intervene in other worlds."

"You already have a plan?"

"I do. Well, it's not much more than an armchair theory right now."

Everett excitedly told Evis of his ideals. "Land, sea, sky, computers, outer space... We're constantly pioneering uncharted territory. So where will we break ground next?"

"The multiverse, then. Heh, I wonder just where this act of transforming the unknown into the known may lead us."

Evis gazed somewhere far away. Surely, she was imagining the unknown parallel worlds.

"There's no end to it. As long as we don't stop thinking."

"Indeed," Evis said, extending a hand to Everett. "Our conversation was truly fascinating."

"Ah...thank you. Actually, I should apologize for joking around. I didn't think I'd be speaking to the founder of Libra Dynamics..."

"Oh, it's all right. I don't get opportunities to ignore my standing and chat like this."

"Haha, well, then if you say so..."

"Hmm, you still look rather glum."

"Well...you're the first person who's ever seriously listened to me."

Everett laughed with a comical shrug. His every word and expression reflected his deep exhaustion from his funding being constantly rejected.

"They don't truly believe in science. They're just cogs in the gigantic organism of a corporation, circulating money like blood. Well, then again, I'm no different," Evis replied, smiling widely. Apparently the woman who grew Libra Dynamics into a major corporation during her lifetime had a charming, personable side.

"So, on the matter of finances..." Everett began.

"Before that, may I ask you one thing?"

"What's that?"

"I had my secretary look into you. I recall that you used to teach at a university—what made you abandon your position and research the multiverse?"

"Well..."

Everett lowered his eyes to avoid Evis's direct gaze. Without even thinking, he fidgeted restlessly with the ring on his left ring finger.

"Do you know about the Libra Heim incident?"

"Yes. I've heard about it to a certain extent."

"Right, then."

Everett closed his eyes and began to recount the event that changed his life.

I still remember it clear as day. It was a rare day of heavy snowfall for a city on the coast. I was so overwhelmed with work that I stayed at the university, and completely missed my chance to go home. I thought it would be too much trouble getting home in the snowstorm, so I thought I'd stay overnight at school when I got a call from my wife.

"Sorry, Bridge. I'll be staying the night today."

"Sheesh, wrapped up in your research again?"

"I sure am. I'll be more careful next time."

—sh.

"Huh? Are you using the microwave too? Your voice sounds fuzzy."

"It's great that you're—passionate about it, but make sure to—set aside—time—"

—Fshhh.

"Hey, what's happening? Can you hear me?"

"And—when you sleep, dont—sleep in your chair—use the sofa—"

Beep, Beeeeeep.

I suddenly lost contact with Bridget. I tried calling her several times, but I couldn't get through.

There was this stinging feeling in my chest. Something awful had happened. I had to get home right now. I followed my heart and rushed home to Libra Heim. What awaited me there was a sight that made me doubt my own eyes.

"Wha...What is this...?"

Libra Heim was "overlapped" with another building. Looking closer, the color of the exterior changed partway through, and seemed to be a completely different material. Even the cracks and damage in the walls were cut cleanly where they joined, as if by a sharp blade. Then, I noticed something even stranger. The building towering before me that looked like Libra Heim had become one story taller.

"Absurd... How could something like this actually happen?"

But this was unmistakably reality. A scientist had to consider every possibility. I regained my composure and remembered why I came here, then pushed my way through the crowd and rushed inside.

"Bridgeeet!"

The scene inside was even further beyond my imagination. Just like the outside, the inside also looked like it had been misaligned—little things like lamps had changed color and material, or they looked melted and distorted, like someone had stretched them out.

"What happened...whoa!?"

I had been looking up the whole time, when I tripped over something and fell.

"Owww... What was—!?"

When I looked to see what I tripped over, my breath caught in my throat.

"M-Mark...?"

The landlord, Mark, had "grown" new limbs, like branches coming from his body. And next to Mark lay his beloved dog Bosch, with extra limbs just like him.

"No, they're already dead..."

They had both already passed away. But they were so full of life when they greeted me on my way out that morning. If this strange phenomenon drove them to their deaths, then was Bridget already...

"You've gotta be kidding me!"

I covered their eyes and hurried to the top floor, where Bridget was. On my way up, I saw our neighbors, mutated into something indescribable. Each and every one was a sorry sight, some buried in the walls, others transformed into the same material as the pillars. From the looks of things, the residents in the rooms might also be—

"Shit! I don't know that yet! Until I see her with my own eyes, I can't say whether Bridget is alive or dead!"

When I finally arrived at the top floor, I entered our home with enough force to kick the door open.

"...Ah... No way..."

Bridget lay mutated in the living room. Some strange phenomenon had happened to her body like the neighbors, but this was clearly different from the others. Not only was her body translucent and dark red like a sea slug, but eerie tentacles sprouted from her back—

"Ah, ahhh... Waaahhhhhh!"

----------

"I died and came back to life that day. Now, I live to chase after the phenomenon that drove Bridget to such a terrible fate."

That was how Everett truly felt.

"So you've devoted three years to your research just to identify the cause?"

"Honestly, I don't have any more interest in the advancement of science or bettering humanity. As long as I can find the reason that hell came to be..."

As he spoke about his own memories, Everett realized he was clenching his fists.

"Sorry. I got too heated."

"No, I should apologize for the impolite question," Evis began, before continuing, "I'm glad I came here. Now that I know the principles you follow, I can invest in your research without reservations."

"You mean—"

"Yes."

Evis nodded and extended her hand. The moment he took her hand, the research would be set in motion. However, Everett started to reach out, then stopped.

"What is it?"

"Um, why are you funding me?"

She said it so lightly, but the cost of his research was unfathomable. She may have been moved by his principles, but it wasn't the kind of thing one could hand out readily. Evis smiled and explained her thinking.

"Your research sparked my curiosity, and your passion moved me."

If such a great figure who constantly supported the Megacity and the livelihood of its people said as much, who was he not to take her hand? Everett squeezed her hand back and firmly declared, "I'll give it my all. I won't let you down, Evis."

"Heh, reliable as can be. I'll be counting on you."

Still holding Everett's hand, Evis said, "I'd like to ask a favor," with a somewhat troubled smile. "I didn't think anyone would still call me Evis. I take it you've read my paper?"

"Yes, it left quite an impression when I read it as a student, so I remember it well."

"I see. I feel a bit bad about it, but would you call me 'Ibis' from now on?"

"Why's that?"

"Evis sort of...makes me sound like a bit of a villain, don't you think?"

"Haha... Well, sure."

After that, Everett watched Ibis leave the room with a deep sense of gratitude. Now, with no one else left in the room, he tidied up the scattered documents. Despite receiving massive funding, his face still looked glum.

"..."

There was one thing about the Libra Heim incident he hadn't told her.

----------

Everett thought he would at least make Bridget's body look presentable and tried to remove the salt-like substance clinging to her, when—

—Ah, waaah!

From out of nowhere, he heard a baby crying. When he listened closely and followed the sound, he heard it coming from the bulge in Bridget's stomach...

It had been about three weeks before the incident. Everett recalled Bridget feeling unwell and laying down to rest. She said it was nothing to worry about, but if that had been an early sign of pregnancy—

"No way... But, that can't be...!"

Everett snapped to his senses and lifted Bridget's shirt. Inside her transparent stomach, a baby was crying.

Everett removed the baby from Bridget's body, wrapped it in a blanket, and rushed to the hospital. He may have been a college professor, but Everett couldn't hide his distress at dealing with a child, much less this tiny newborn life.

"Uh, nurse! Will this kid survive? What should I do?"

Everett kept pestering the doctor and nurses with questions, like is he breathing? Is he hurt? What do babies eat?

"Quit making a racket. You know this is a hospital? How is you panicking gonna help at a time like this? We'll take good care of the child, so go cool your head a little!"

"Ow...!?"

Everett was driven out of the examination room by a kick to the behind from a surprisingly intimidating nurse a whole two heads shorter than him.

As he roamed the hospital late at night, he eventually found a quiet spot. He sat down on a suitable chair, closed his eyes, and slowly steadied his breathing.

"Whew..."

As he spent some time focusing on his breathing, Everett regained his composure. Now that his mind was clear, his thoughts soon turned to Bridget.

"Sorry, Bridge... I've left you behind..."

The moment he saw that baby crying in her stomach, he desperately extracted the baby, determined not to let it die. Thinking back, even though it was an extreme situation, he didn't know why he acted that way.

"Was it a biological instinct that made me do it?"

If it was, he couldn't hide his confusion at the fact that he had such feelings himself.

"But anyway...is that kid really...my..."

Considering the timing of Bridget feeling unwell, it wouldn't be strange if she was pregnant. But could a fetus have fully developed in such a short time?

"What am I thinking!? This isn't it. I should be praying for the kid's safety here!"

After a while, he heard the voice of the nurse who kicked him out.

"Oh good, you're here."

"Nurse, will he survive?"

"There's no question of survival. He's surprisingly stable."

"Really?"

"Oh, get yourself together. I'd never lie."

"Gotcha... Thank God..."

With the weight off his chest, he softly put a hand to his heart. Now, he wouldn't have to deliver bad news to Bridget. Everett leaned against the backrest and exhaled as the nurse sat down.

"Well, cleared your head a bit?"

"Yeah, thanks. And...sorry for earlier."

"It's nothing. If I were in your shoes, I'm sure I'd have done the same."

She said that, but she exuded a sense of dignity that made that hard to believe. Then, Everett realized it was her way of showing consideration.

His tension totally relieved, Everett bluntly voiced his doubts. "I've got one question. Considering when my wife got pregnant, I think the baby could be premature, but..."

"No way! He's the very picture of health itself! His development and body weight are just fine."

"..."

He was at a loss for words. Perhaps whatever mutation happened to her body extended to the inside as well, and—

All kinds of possibilities sprang to his mind in a flash. Everett's brow furrowed deeply. With his haggard looks, he must have looked like some kind of villain to the nurse.

"What do you look so grim for? You're not thinking you wish the kid had never been born, or something?"

"No, no, nothing like that! He's—He's the precious treasure my beloved Bridget left me!"

"Left you... You mean..."

Everett had blurted out his honest feelings on impulse.

That's right. That child is our treasure. Even if he was born under abnormal circumstances, it doesn't matter!

"I'm sorry. I didn't know your circumstances..."

"No, I should be apologizing. I didn't realize how important it was until you said so."

They both went quiet. In the comfortable silence, the nurse suddenly clapped her hands together.

"Hey. Have you picked out a name yet?"

"Oh..."

So many things had happened in quick succession that he completely forgot. For a researcher like Everett, naming things was a sacred act. By giving names to the indistinct, things that were once ambiguous gained definition, and it became possible to distinguish them.

"Right..."

Now that it was his turn to give a name, he was unexpectedly nervous. It was a different kind of nervousness from naming phenomena. Everett took a deep breath and thought about his child's future.

By all rights, he should have died knowing nothing of the world. If that strange phenomenon saved his life, then I hope a wonderful future waits ahead of him...

He was sure that if Bridget were here, she would agree. Their child's name would be...

"William. Yeah, William it is."

Each time he hummed the name to himself, Everett felt that it couldn't be anything else, and the world became more defined.

"That's a good name," the nurse said. "Take good care of him."

On that day, Everett lost his dear wife, and became a father.

With his home lost to that inexplicable phenomenon, Everett quit his job at the university and searched for a new home while William was in the hospital. Megacity Libra was vast. However, that only increased his options, making it hard to narrow it down to just one. Then, when Everett was stuck between several candidates, he went to ask the nurse for her advice, and she made an unexpected suggestion.

"What about the decadent zone?"

The decadent zone, in contrast to the architectural styles of the other residential areas, had become a near fortress of container houses stacked up and arranged in complex layouts. Its residents were largely low-income families and elderly, or social outcasts and those who wanted to get away from the world, so it was also a shady place subject to all kinds of criticism from the public.

"Whoa, why there? I've got a baby to raise, you know?"

"You know, I actually came from there. It may look dangerous from the outside, but the residents all help each other out to get by. So if you're honest about your situation, I'm sure they'll help you. Well, it's not like there aren't dangerous spots. But anywhere you go, you'll get used to living there. Oh, I know! I'll write a few words for you! You should see it for yourself."

Everett visited the decadent zone as she said, where he was welcomed by the bishop Blackcape, who ran a church there. It seemed Everett's story had already reached him, and as soon as he checked the letter of introduction, he quickly offered to arrange for a place to live. Thus, Everett and William's new life got off to a smooth start.

Three months after their fresh start, Everett used his existing skills and knowledge to run a repair shop in the decadent zone. Since there was hardly anyone else with the technical knowledge and he already had an easygoing personality, he became adored by many of the residents in no time at all.

One day, when he had settled down properly and found the time to himself, Everett had the idea to keep a record of William's growth.

"I'm going to record William's growth here."

Everett had a habit before of recording his ideas and research notes with a voice recorder, and Bridget's death made him want to leave his voice behind. That way, if by some chance he died, it could help relieve William of his loneliness.

When he started keeping a record, Everett realized something. William was surprisingly low-maintenance. He rarely cried, and there were times he got immersed in something he was interested in and wouldn't respond. The times he stared idly at nothing reminded him a lot of the way he acted himself when he was lost in his research, so he gladly thought, he'll be a future researcher, huh.

Until actually having to raise a child, Everett was the sort of person who didn't like being around children, but he had already forgotten all about it and come to love his child dearly. There were days where he was anxious about raising a child on his own at first, but there were many people in the decadent zone who believed that children should be raised as a community, so Everett was able to grow as a parent himself with their mutual support.

"Will turned two today, Bridget. He's not good at talking yet, but he called me Daddy for the first time recently! And get this, he can stand and walk on his own now!"

As he learned the joys of raising a child and kept a daily record of William's growth, he used more and more voice recorders. By now, he had enough to hold a small recital. Everett laughed softly at his own doting behavior, finished by recording his own change of heart, and stopped the recorder. Then, he checked that William was sound asleep, and resumed the Libra Heim research he had been neglecting between balancing childcare and work.

Even for research purposes, there was no way for an ordinary citizen like Everett to get past the barricades and guards protecting Libra Heim. So, he decided to think about what caused the Libra Heim phenomenon. His only clue was the memory of that day. He thought back over and over, repeatedly thinking up and rejecting possibilities about the scene that was burned into his memory. The conclusion he reached at last was a nonsensical idea that no sober person would ever think of.

"A parallel universe. That's it—I can't think of anything else it could be."

When the possibility of the multiverse flashed through his mind, Everett raced into action. It was a conclusion drawn from limited clues. His theory was that there were new, yet-undiscovered "points" in this world that were somehow made to vibrate rapidly, leading to that tragedy. Those points were a portion of space corresponding to each elementary particle that makes up matter, which played a role in transmitting sound and light. If he was able to identify the elementary particles produced from vibrating those points, he should be able to create the same phenomenon as in Libra Heim. Of course, he wasn't going to repeat that tragedy. He was going to use it to create measures so that there would never be victims like Bridget and the others again.

Nearly a year had passed since his idea about the multiverse. He had a hypothesis, but there was inevitably a major barrier to taking the next step.

"I...don't have money..."

Indeed, Everett had no research funds. His multiverse observation device needed to be large in scale to vibrate the field. If he were to build it from scratch, the manufacturing costs would be astronomical.

"Money... I gotta make money..."

But he had no chance with the earnings of a junk shop for residents of the decadent zone. With William's upbringing to worry about, he didn't have the excess funds to put toward research. A single person could only earn so much.

"Then there's only one thing to do. I've gotta gather the ones with all the money."

Fortunately, Megacity Libra had such people in spades. All he had to do was think of a way to get them to invest. Everett looked at the scattered scrap material in his shop with a wide grin.

"If I want some flair to my presentation, I'd better have a proper machine!"

With the help of his college friends, Everett staked it all.

"Wait for me, Bridge. I don't know how long it'll take, but I'll get to the bottom of this no matter what."

About a year had passed since Everett risked everything he owned, and in the end, the presentation of his (hypothetical) multiverse observation device captured the heart of Ibis Harbinger, one of Libra's greats. Later, Everett signed a contract in the CEO's office at her company, and was given ample funding along with a private research lab. That alone was a warm welcome beyond Everett's wildest imagination, but Ibis also said that she would arrange for personnel as needed. The enthusiasm was unbelievable.

"I wonder if Ibis has already thought of a way to make use of the multiverse that I haven't..."

Her passion was overwhelming at times, but Everett had also come to appreciate having someone so passionate as a research partner. He had yet to succeed at observing the multiverse. Since he hadn't been able to pinpoint where that field should be, research could not progress.

Everett had a particular hangup. The research funds all went to research, and he earned his daily living expenses at the junk shop. He was sure that if he asked Ibis, she would support his living expenses too. But it was the one thing he refused, both out of guilt about deceiving Ibis, and the feeling that if he strayed from the right path any further, he wouldn't be able to face William and Bridget.

"I still haven't achieved any results. But I'm not giving up here."

But no matter how strong his mindset, it wouldn't change the results of his research. Day in and day out, he tested new hypotheses, and failed over and over. Everett went on repeating it, with no change for the better.

A new turning point came two years after his research began—when his son William was five years old.

That day, Everett recorded William's growth record, something he often forgot about when he got caught up in his research.

"William made it to age five just fine. It's all thanks to everyone's support that we've made it this far."

Everett paused for a moment. Then, he checked that William wasn't in the room listening to his log, and resumed recording.

"Will's been acting awfully strange lately. I thought he was just lost in thought, but sometimes his eyes dart around like he's following something."

Apparently, it even happened when he was playing with his friends.

"Earlier, I asked the children Will likes to play with, and they said he'll suddenly look like he noticed something and start walking toward an empty space. They said it was creepy, so they avoid him. Bridge, what am I supposed to do at a time like this?"

Kids were impressionable at that age. There were children who said they felt like everything they saw had become gigantic, and they themselves were tiny. Everett had brought it up to the bishop Blackcape. According to him, such stories were temporary, and they would naturally stop feeling that way with the passage of time. If William followed their example, there wouldn't really be any problem, but Everett wasn't so sure.

Everett thought back to that day. The mutated residents of Libra Heim. The mutated state of his beloved wife. And William, the sole survivor among them. Even if he wanted to dismiss it as an unfounded worry, the nature of his birth wouldn't allow it.

"I really hope it's nothing..."

But Everett's prayers were in vain, and the thing he was afraid of finally became reality. On that day, he was dismantling garbage he collected from Libra in his shop when William showed up with a frightened expression.

"...Dad."

"Will, what—did something happen!?"

"Saw a weird thing."

"Weird...?"

From William's clumsy words, Everett grasped that there was a swarm of strangely-shaped creatures drifting in the sky above the stacked container houses.

"What kind of shape were they?"

"...You won't be mad?"

"Of course not. Dad won't get mad, so you can tell me anything."

When he said that, William's face lit up and he ran over to the bookshelf. He came back quickly with a book in his hands. It was one of the encyclopedias he had gifted William, thinking about his future—an encyclopedia of marine life.

"Wh-What is it?"

"I saw this."

When he said that, William showed him a page depicting a sea-dwelling microorganism—

"—!?"

He had seen that shape before. He'd never forget it. It was unmistakeable: It looked just like the bizarre mutation of his dear wife Bridget.

"I knew you'd be mad..."

"Ah... N-No, Will. Dad's angry face is something he was born with. Yeah, that's it."

Everett put on his best smile. William smiled back. Just this once, he couldn't help but resent his habit of furrowing his brow when he was lost in thought.

What Will's saying is probably right. There's a power in him to see things that I can't.

If that was true, and it was something he was born with, he could probably perceive them when he was even smaller.

"Will, don't tell anyone else about this. It's a promise with Dad, okay?"

"'Kay, got it."

"That's a good kid."

He tousled William's head, and the boy giggled bashfully with a radiant smile. After a while, Everett had a sudden hunch.

"...Will, can I ask you one question?"

"Yep!"

"The strange shapes... Do you know where they flew off to?"

"I do!"

Everett left the shop with William. Then, he looked where William happily pointed. "There!"

...So it's just like I thought.

At the end of that line was Libra Heim. Without a doubt, that was where the swarm of strange shapes William saw was headed. Perhaps that swarm was what caused that phenomenon.

I had the wrong idea. I thought these "points" always existed, and I could observe them by causing them to vibrate. But if the point itself moves like a living thing, then it shouldn't be possible to observe.

In order to observe it, he would have to go back to where things began—back to the building where it all started.

"Dad, did you wanna ask anything else?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. After dinner, would you tell me more about what else you've seen?"

"Okay!" William replied, and dashed back into the shop.

As he watched his lively figure from behind, Everett thought, William could get caught up in something beyond my imagination in the future. All I can do right now...is give him the strength to fight against it.

That day, Everett made a new vow to his departed wife.

I'll protect our William even if it costs me my life.